World War 2

  • Prior to the outbreak of the second world war, Coca-Cola’s only unqualified success on the international scene was its bottling operations in Nazi Germany. Sales records were being set year after year in that venue, and by 1939 Coca-Cola had 43 bottling plants and more than 600 local distributors in that country. Fanta originated as a result of difficulties importing Coca-Cola syrup into Nazi…

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  • (Originally posted on July 29 2017) Born: Mar. 19, 1923 . Cranston Providence County  Rhode Island, USA. Died:Mar. 24, 1945 Düsseldorf .Düsseldorfer Stadtkreis .Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. World War II Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. He served in the United States Army during World War II as a Private in Company G, 507th Parachute Infantry, 17th Airborne…

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  • During the Second World War, one out of every five residents in Aalten—a town in the Achterhoek, the “back corner” of the eastern Netherlands near the German border—was in hiding. The Nazi occupiers actively hunted for anyone on the run, particularly Jewish citizens and young men avoiding forced labor camps. Not even the local churches…

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  • Gesina Groen would have been 85 today. But she was murdered on her 1st birthday. She was born on July 26,1941 in Amsterdam and murdered in Auschwitz July 26,1942, together with her mother. There are no pictures of Gesina, just a picture of the house she lived in. The address is Nieuwe Keizersgracht 70, Amsterdam,…

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  • A marriage disrupted

    Eighty-four years ago today, Edie (Elias) van Biene and Sara (Sonja) Rood were married in The Hague. Just a few days ago, I celebrated my own 31st wedding anniversary. It was a hot day, and I still vividly remember our first dance, the kiss, and our first night of passionate sex as a married couple—each…

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  • I am a great believer that people should investigate their past before they pass judgment on others. There were many Dutch who did good during World War II; many risked their lives and sometimes gave their lives to help or save their Jewish neighbors. However, on the other hand, there were also many, and probably…

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  • Austria 1933-1939

    Historians usually focus on 1930s Germany when analyzing National Socialism, but I believe pre-WWII Austria has just as much to teach us. In fact, studying Austria’s political environment during that era offers a fascinating lens for understanding modern politics. Between 1933 and 1939, Austria experienced a rapid shift from a fragile parliamentary democracy to an…

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  • Medical Doctors generally work closely together with Pharmacists. During the Holocaust this was not much different. Victor  Capesius was born to a doctor of German descent in 1907, in a part of Romania which then belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He studied in Romania and Vienna where, in 1933, he completed his doctorate in pharmacy.…

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  • Social Equality

    Be careful what you wish for. Did you want a leader that works with and for the people supporting free higher education, pensions, health insurance, family and child support with an assortment of public services, including paid vacations—not just days off but actually weeks away and trips abroad, sponsored by the state, state-supported and sponsored…

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  • (originally posted on November 1, 2021, My friend Norman Stone pointed the story out to me, sadly Norman passed away last year) Hate is never good, it clouds judgement and mind. I am not only saying this to those who read this but more so to myself. I have written so many pieces about World…

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